A Catholic school in Michigan, Sacred Heart Academy, has filed a lawsuit against the state of Michigan, challenging a new civil rights law that does not provide religious exemptions to its sexual orientation and gender identity policies. The school argues that without these exemptions, it would be forced to hire faculty and staff who do not adhere to Catholic teachings. The case has now been appealed to the Sixth Circuit, and Sacred Heart Academy has received support from various religious organizations, including the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and the Religious Freedom Institute’s Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team.
The supporting groups argue that the new state law would have a particularly negative impact on minority faiths. They express concern that the misapplication or removal of the coreligionist exemption could harm adherents of minority religious faiths who often come together to learn, teach, act, and serve as an expression of their faith. The brief filed by the groups emphasizes the importance of religious entities’ right to hire individuals who share their beliefs and states that this issue is of great concern to all faith groups, especially minority faiths.
Sacred Heart Academy, founded by Polish immigrants over a century ago, sees its mission as providing a classical Catholic education and supporting parents in raising their children. However, the amended Michigan Civil Rights Act does not offer protections for religious organizations that hold traditional views on marriage and sex. This means that the school would be required to hire individuals who do not align with Catholic teachings, which goes against its core mission.
The civil rights firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing the parents of Sacred Heart students in the lawsuit. ADF argues that the lack of protections in the law forces religious organizations to hire individuals who contradict their beliefs, leading to violations of Church doctrine and compromising the integrity of the school.
The amicus brief filed by the Jewish Coalition and Islam Religious Freedom Action supports the “coreligionist” exemption, which allows religious organizations to determine which roles and responsibilities should be filled only by fellow believers. The brief argues that this exemption preserves the autonomy and free exercise rights of religious groups and prevents state interference in religious affairs.
Michigan’s Democratic Attorney General, Dana Nessel, is opposing the lawsuit. The amicus brief filed by the supporting religious groups criticizes Nessel’s proposed “discretionary exemption scheme,” which they argue is burdensome and does not address their concerns. The groups believe that the state’s regime is not neutral or generally applicable and raises entanglement concerns.
Digital reached out to the attorney general’s office for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Brianna Herlihy is a politics writer for Digital.
